Chris McCausland & Lee Mack Set For Sky Festive Special

British comedians Chris McCausland and Lee Mack will front Sky festive special Bad Tidings, about two perpetually feuding neighbors in Northern England who become unlikely heroes after saving their street from notorious burglars with wacky booby traps and British banter. Laurence Rickard & Martha Howe-Douglas (Ghosts, Horrible Histories) are writing, with production commencing this month at Sky Studios Elstree. Also cast are Rebekah Staton, Sarah Alexander, Ben Crompton, Emily Coates, Josiah Eloi, Millie Kiss, Tupele Dorgu, Sunil Patel, Susan Kyd and Donna Preston. Sky Studios is producing, with  Tim Kirkby directing. Adnan Ahmed from Sky Studios is the producer and Ail Gupta exec produces. Sky’s Comcast stablemate NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution will handle international sales. Bad Tidings is the latest Sky original festive special, following last year’s The Heist Before Christmas, 2022’s Christmas Carole and 2021’s The Amazing Mr Blunden.

The Mediapro Studio Goes ‘Quiet’ At MIPTV

Spanish content house The Mediapro Studio has unveiled its latest series, Quiet, at MIPTV. Created by Lluís Arcarazo and co-produced in association with Spanish television operator 3Cat, the eight-part series depicts the investigation of a serial killer targeting the homeless. Quiet is based on a true story and will star David Verdaguer (Jokes & Cigarettes, Summer 1993) and Ángela Cervantes (La Maternal, Chavalas). The executive producers are Laura Fernandez Espeso, Javier Méndez, Lluís Arcarazo and Bernat Elías for Mediapro and Oriol Sala-Patau and Conxa Orea for 3Cat. Show creator Arcarazo is also lead writer for the series, along with Guillermo Cisneros and María Jaen. Marta Pahíssa (Rapa, Smiley) will direct all eight episodes. Quiet will premiere on TV3 and the 3Cat platform, while The Mediapro Studio Distribution owns the worldwide commercial rights and will be shopping at the final MIPTV in Cannes this week.

Mario Van Peebles Docuseries ‘The Beat Goes On’ Anchors “Impact” Campaign

Production outfit Partners In Kind has launched what it described as the “impact campaign” tied to the release of the Mario Van Peebles docuseries The Beat Goes On. The campaign calls on 32 student filmmakers from 10 states and dozens of universities — including Morehouse, Spelman, Kent University, Howard University, and UNC Chapel Hil to produce short-form videos to highlight essential tools to help drive election voter turnout in their communities. The campaign videos will highlight the work of the following organizations: Project Say Something, Alabama The Freedom Bloc, Ohio Georgia Stand Up, Georgia Texas Freedom Network, Texas Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, Florida North Carolina Black Alliance, and North Carolina Power Action Fund – Pennsylvania.